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Here's how the White House is responding to Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer's claim that the president didn't fill out the 1996 survey in which he appeared to support marriage equality. Via Washington Blade:

The White House is backing off of the comments Pfeiffer made on Friday on Obama’s 1996 statement in support of same-sex marriage. Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, addressed the issue in a statement: “Dan was not familiar with the history of the questionnaire that was brought up today, but the president’s views are clear,” Inouye said. “He has long supported equal rights and benefits for gay and lesbian couples and since taking office he has signed into law the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ signed into law the hate crimes bill, made the decision not to defend Section 3 of DOMA and expanded federal benefits for same sex partners of federal employees.” Inouye didn’t respond to a further question from the Washington Blade to verify whether the White House believes the president in fact filled out the questionnaire in 1996.

AmericaBlog is calling the above a "bizarre non-denial."

This may be the biggest news to come out of Netroots.

In an interview conducted in front of an audience at the Netroots Nation blogger conference early Friday in Minneapolis, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer claimed a 1996 questionnaire favoring gay marriage, which bears Barack Obama's signature, was "actually filled out by someone else." "If you actually go back and look, that questionnaire was actually filled out by someone else, not the President. There was a long debate about this in the campaign. ... This was litigated in the campaign," Pfeiffer said in an exchange with the Daily Kos' Kaili Joy Gray caught on video.

AmericaBlog was quick with a denouncement.

"President Obama is taking its social activism to new heights--as in, above the Federal Reserve. Apparently, the administration's proclamation in support of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender pride triggered a series of parties and other events at taxpayer expense. America's central bank interpreted the President's declaration as an excuse to fly the rainbow flag above its building in Richmond, Virginia. On the same pole as Old Glory, the Feds are celebrating a behavior that Delegate Bob Marshall (R-Va.) says is 'still a class six felony in Virginia.'

"As Richmond's paper points out, the flag isn't the only thing that's been raised--so have objections. But despite the flood of complaints, bank managers refuse to bend. A spokesman for the bank said, 'The flag is an example of our bank's commitment to diversity.' The colors were reportedly flown at the request of an LGBT employee. I guess we'll see how supportive of diversity the bank really is when Christian Heritage Week rolls around next March in Virginia. Can we expect to see the Christian flag flying at the Fed?" - Family Research Council head bigot Tony Perkins.

The Obama administration today launched a new official subsite titled "Winning The Future: President Obama & the LGBT Community." Chris Geidner reports at Metro Weekly:

In addition to the fact sheet and email sign-up page, the LGBT home page contains links to the administration's "It Gets Better" videos; White House blog posts relating to LGBT issues; LGBT-related news releases from the administration; and links to resources, including StopBullying.gov, AIDS.gov and the Defense Department's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal page.

The two-page, "The Obama Administration's Commitment to Winning the Future for the LGBT Community" fact sheet contains many bullet points of accomplishments -- similar to but more expansive than Tuesday's 2011 LGBT Pride Month proclamation from Obama -- and three bullet points about future progress. The "progress" points all relate, at least in part, to relationship recognition -- a topic absent from Tuesday's proclamation.

The White House today issued a proclamation recognizing LGBT Pride Month. Metro Weekly notes that for the first time since Obama took office, the statement makes no mention of recognizing gay relationships. The proclamation begins:

The story of America's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community is the story of our fathers and sons, our mothers and daughters, and our friends and neighbors who continue the task of making our country a more perfect Union. It is a story about the struggle to realize the great American promise that all people can live with dignity and fairness under the law. Each June, we commemorate the courageous individuals who have fought to achieve this promise for LGBT Americans, and we rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Read the proclamation in full (PDF).

Here's an excerpt from the U.S. State Department's press release on yesterday's historic United Nations resolution. A total of 85 nations have signed on the Obama administration's call to battle for LGBT rights around the world.

20 countries joined this statement that were neither signatory to the 2006 or 2008 statements. The statement garnered support from every region of the world, including 21 signatories from the Western Hemisphere, 43 from Europe, 5 from Africa, and 16 from the Asia/Pacific region. Delivered by Colombia on behalf of: Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Central African Republic, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the former-Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vanuatu, and Venezuela

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: "Gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights. We will continue to promote human rights around the world for all people who are marginalized and discriminated against because of sexual orientation or gender identity. And we will not rest until every man, woman and child is able to live up to his or her potential free from persecution or discrimination of any kind."

"People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behaviour between people of the same sex. When they express their moral beliefs or beliefs about human nature ... they are stigmatised, and worse -- they are vilified, and prosecuted. These attacks are violations of fundamental human rights and cannot be justified under any circumstances. States can and must regulate behaviours, including various sexual behaviours. Throughout the world, there is a consensus between societies that certain kinds of sexual behaviour must be forbidden by law. Paedophilia and incest are two examples." - Vatican spokesbigot Archbishop Silvano Tomas.

Yup, the Vatican wants your existence to be "forbidden by law."

"While American forces bomb away at Libya, the Obama administration is launching another global offensive: Operation International Tolerance. As he looks on from South America, the President put troops on the ground today for a meeting of the U.N.'s Human Rights Council, where his diplomats plan to strong-arm other countries into embracing homosexuality. In a major U-turn from the Bush years, the Obama administration is actually initiating an 'anti-discrimination' resolution to force acceptance of the world's gays and lesbians. As recently as 2008, the United States refused to sign a similar declaration because President Bush thought it conflicted with the states' rights to pass things like marriage amendments. [snip]

"Obviously, FRC believes that homosexuals and transgenders shouldn't be subjected to violence. But this resolution goes well beyond that to endorsing a behavior that dozens of member nations oppose. No binding document of international law has ever recognized a universal 'human right' to engage in sex with a person of the same gender. And although even the U.N. admits that 'resolutions' like this one 'aren't legally binding,' they do help to create a legal norm. We've seen this similar approach with respect to abortion, where countries like the U.S. have tried to insinuate a 'right' under international law where there is none. Our global neighbors have the freedom to believe that homosexuality is wrong--just as they have the freedom to legislate against any behavior they think is harmful to society. That freedom--and their very sovereignty--would be threatened by this effort." - The Family Research Council, an SPLC-certified hate group.

"In December 2008, the outgoing Bush administration opposed a French resolution at the U.N. General Assembly on the issue of homosexual rights because it feared that the loosely worded document might make it difficult for American states to reject gay marriage. The Holy See concurred, saying that terms like 'sexual orientation' and 'gender identity' were contentious because they 'find no recognition or clear and agreed definition in international law.' Thus, they would ineluctably create 'uncertainty in the law.' [snip]

"Now the Obama administration has chosen to adopt the identical terms in its declaration. The ultimate difference between the Obama administration and the Vatican lay in their respective approaches to homosexual marriage: the American government has repeatedly shown no interest supporting efforts to maintain the traditional understanding of marriage. At stake is the right of nations which reject homosexual marriage to maintain their standards without undue pressure from those which embrace it. And that is exactly what will happen if overly broad language is adopted." - Catholic League president Bill Donohue, denouncing today's action by the Obama administration.

Today the Obama administration issued a landmark resolution calling upon the United Nations to battle discrimination against LGBT people everywhere in the world. Previous such resolutions sponsored by other nations were ignored by the Bush II administration.

The U.S. declaration was made Tuesday, March 22 at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and had the support of more than 80 countries. Although it is not in the form of binding resolution, the American push for U.N. action has helped win over a handful of new countries to the cause. A resolution could be brought to a vote later this year. The issue of gay rights has polarized nations at the U.N. for years. And despite growing acceptance for LGBT lifestyles in Western nations and parts of Latin America, lawyers say there is still a gap in human rights treaties for the protection of gays against discrimination and mistreatment. "We are very concerned that individuals continue to be killed, arrested, and harassed around the world because of their sexual orientation or gender identity," said Suzanne Nossel, deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations. "This statement sends a strong message from across the globe that such abuses should not be tolerated."

Among the nations signing on to such a resolution for the first time: Thailand, Rwanda, El Salvador, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. United Nations resolutions are not legally binding upon the countries that endorse them.

"I am equally committed to the full and meaningful implementation of Equal Employment Opportunity policies for all HHS employees and applicants. My goal is to create an environment within HHS, free of discrimination, where all employees may work without fear of reprisal or discriminatory harassment; where qualified employees and applicants with disabilities receive reasonable accommodations; and where all employees are recognized for their individual performance and contributions to HHS, without regard to race, national origin, color, age, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), sexual orientation, disability (physical or mental), status as a parent, genetic information, or other non-merit factor. I fully expect all employees and supervisors to adopt these goals. With your support and participation, we can ensure workforce diversity and equal opportunity are two of our greatest strengths." - Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, via press release.

(Tipped by JMG reader Nicholas)

In advance of an anti-bullying conference to be held at the White House tomorrow, the president and First Lady have posted the below message to the federal government's official Stop Bullying page on Facebook.

Convicted felon and Manhattan Declaration author Chuck Colson says about DOMA: "I'm practically beside myself over the administration's arrogance, but I'm just as perplexed by the [lack of] reaction by the church."

Because now the Christianists can step in to actually vigorously defend DOMA in the courts.

"This is legislative fraud that's been perpetrated by the president, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid."

The Family Research Council is convinced that the Obama administration "conspired" with Ted Olson and AFER over the same-day timing of last week's announcements on DOMA and Proposition 8. Yesterday they filed a Freedom of Information Act request to prove it. Here's Tony Perkins' letter to the feds.

"Less than three hours after Attorney General Holder's announcement, litigants seeking to strike down California's traditional marriage definition enacted by Proposition 8 filed a 'Motion to Vacate Stay' in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On pages 7 of 23 and 10 of 23 the Motion cited to and quoted from the Attorney General Letter.

"As the president of the Family Research Council (FRC), an organization that has filed amicus briefs defending both Proposition 8 and DoMA, I am troubled by the lightning-fast integration of concepts and actual language from the Attorney General Letter into the Motion to Vacate Stay. Let me repeat: the Motion was filed within two-and-one-half hours of Attorney General's press conference. Consequently, I am deeply concerned that officials at the Department of Justice were collaborating with the litigants in the Proposition 8 case. Even the appearance of collusion between the Department of Justice and litigants is highly damaging to the rule of law in America."

Longtime Obama fundraiser Jeremy Bernard (on left, with former partner Rufus Gifford), has been named White House social secretary. He's the first openly gay man to hold that position and the third in the job since Obama took office.

“Jeremy shares our vision for the White House as the People’s House, one that celebrates our history and culture in dynamic and inclusive ways,” President Obama said in a statement, “We look forward to Jeremy continuing to showcase America’s arts and culture to our nation and the world through the many events at the White House.” Bernard comes to the White House from the US Embassy in Paris, where he served as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador. Prior to this role, he worked as the White House Liaison to the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Obama's first social secretary departed after that dumbass Real Housewives debacle. The second left to campaign for Rahm Emanuel.

Via press release from GLAD:

The Department of Justice followed Wednesday’s withdrawal from two DOMA cases in the Second Circuit, including GLAD’s Pedersen v. OPM by notifying the clerk of the First Circuit that they will also “cease to defend” the two consolidated DOMA cases, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Massachusetts v. HHS. The DOJ has not sent a letter to the Congress declining to defend DOMA in toto in the Gill case, so its determination may only apply to the extent the court determines that heightened scrutiny is the proper standard of review for DOMA’s constitutionality. No matter what happens, the case will proceed with DOJ as the attorneys for the government defendants.

“It is increasingly clear to everyone what has been clear to gay and lesbian families for years - that DOMA’s denial of protections available to all other married families is discriminatory, harmful, and unjustifiable,” said Mary L. Bonauto, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project Director and lead attorney on both Gill and Pedersen. “DOJ’s acknowledgement of this is momentous. At the same time, we know this isn’t the end of the road.” In a letter to the court Assistant Attorney General Tony West writes that “the Department will cease its defense of Section 3” in cases including Gill and Massachusetts. DOJ also “notifies the courts of our interest in providing Congress a full and fair opportunity to participate in the litigation of those cases,” and that “we will remain parties to the case and continue to represent the interests of the United State throughout the litigation.”

According to openly gay Salon reporter Glenn Greenwald, the president deserves "enthusiastic unqualified praise" for yesterday's DOMA move. "This is a case where there's a fair amount of political risk, very little political benefit."